AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 03:36:24 +0100, Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
__/ [ The Ghost In The Machine ] on Saturday 01 July 2006 03:00 \__
In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Culley
<rgc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote
on Sat, 1 Jul 2006 02:52:08 +0200
<oitgn3-sj2.ln1@xxxxxxxxxx>:
I've recently received a new company laptop (a Dell Precision M65).
So first thing I want to do is zap windows and install Gentoo. I
insert the Gentoo LiveCD and power on. What happens? System boots
windows.
So I power off and on and go into the BIOS setup. The laptop was
configured to boot from 4 devices: floppy, disk, usb and CD. Guess
which one was last? Yup, CD.
This is the first system I have come across where by default the
internal disk is before the CD in the boot sequence. Why have Dell
done this? To stop people trying LiveCD's perhaps?
I actually tried a Live CD in a modern Dell machine some months ago. Needed
BIOS intervention. BIOS was password-protected if I recall correctly...
*sign* No other machine had CD-ROM at such a low priority. Not my parents'
machines, not my friends' machines and not my old laptop, either.
Step 2: open the cover and flip the jumper closest to the motherboard
battery. The problem isn't with "modern dell"'s, the problem was just
with one particular machine. Dells are normally shipped without any
password on the bios.
Only problem with that: Dell laptops generally don't have CMOS reset
jumpers (experience with: C400, L400, C440, C640, C840, I4000, I6000...
the list goes on - I've serviced literally /dozens/ of Dell laptops in
three years, and I own 8 different models). The userdata is encoded onto
a 4KB 8-pin DIL package, which is tricky at best to a: get at and b:
wipe. Usually requires intervention with a soldering iron and a properly
formatted replacement chip, as /most/ Dells I've come across with this
setup also have hardware write protection on the chip (which is
basically a track short between two of the contacts). Not impossible to
get round, but one mistake can trash your laptop.
--
When all else fails...
Use a hammer.
http://dotware.co.uk
Some people are like Slinkies
They serve no particular purpose
But they bring a smile to your face
When you push them down the stairs.
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